'Knowledge key to development, prosperity'

Governor hands laptops to Fata position holders

PESHAWAR: Quality knowledge is the globally used tool for development and achieving prosperity.

This was stated by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra while addressing a ceremony at the Governor House in Peshawar on Wednesday. Position holding students from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) were presented with laptop computers under the Prime Minister’s Laptop Scheme during the ceremony.

Jhagra said that the government was taking concrete steps to enable youngsters from the tribal areas to avail better learning facilities, like in other parts of the country.

The tribal youth, he said, was second to none and has the ability to contribute significantly to the country.

Referring to the ongoing development initiatives in Fata, the governor said solid steps were being taken to ensure rapid progress in every walk of life with priority being accorded to providing access to each and every child seeking education.



“To overcome the deficiency of teachers in educational institutions in Fata, fresh recruitments were being made,” the governor said.

The governor further said that almost 97 per cent of the temporarily displaced people had been repatriated to their native areas while the remaining TDPs are expected to return home in the near future.

Simultaneously, he said, to ensure that the tribal area is brought into the mainstream, reforms were in process for the overall development and progress of Fata.

Meanwhile, the governor was told about the scholarship programme for students hailing from Fata.

“Around 49,000 students from Fata are being provided with in-land scholarships every year, which also include 1,475 students studying in various cadet colleges,” stated FATA Social Sector Secretary Yousaf Raheem, who was accompanied by the director of the education and the other concerned senior officials.

Further, it was added, 2,000 students from Fata were being provided with free education at various institutions under the patronage of the 11 Corps of the Army.

While appreciating the dedicated efforts in this respect, the governor expressed the confidence that availability of all such scholarships to the respective students would be on merit basis.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 27^th, 2017.